A Practical Guide to Collaborative Governance

This 62-page step-by-step handbook walks readers through the stages of sponsoring,convening, organizing, and participating in a public policy collaborative process. Designed primarily for elected and appointed government officials and civic leaders, the guide also is useful for those who provide leaders with the staff assistance, facilitation services, and support they need to employ these approaches effectively.

The Practical Guide was developed and written by Chris Carlson, founding director of the Policy Consensus Initiative (now Kitchen Table Democracy) and a leading authority on consensus building in the public sector.

The Practical Guide to Collaborative Governance will help equip more leaders - present and future, in the public, private, and civic sectors - with the information and tools they need to bring about better governance through the use of collaborative practices, with instructions on how to: